On the night of June 25, 1930, an explosion and fire started at Municipal in Universal Airline’s hangar, which housed planes of its subsidiary Stout Air Services. The fire quickly spread to an adjacent hangar used by Gray Goose Airlines. Both hangars and a total of 27 airplanes were destroyed in the blaze.

The fire severed powerlines, plunging much of Municipal and the surrounding area into darkness. The airport brought emergency lighting to land planes that were circling. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident.[1]

Shortly after the fire, in September 1930, National Air Transport (NAT) acquired UATC and Stout ceased operating under its own name. The following year, 1931, United Air Lines acquired NAT.[2]

[1] Midway Airport: Images of Aviation by David Kent; Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012. p. 15.

[2] Chicago Aviation: An Illustrated History by David M.Young; DeKalb IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2003. p. 119.

Wikipedia [online] “Stout Air Services"; accessed 5/3/2017.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stout_Air_Services/